Saturday, March 4, 2017

SpinTunes #12 Round 3 Reviews: Corinne Lucy

This year I followed FAWM closer than I have in the past. I've known about it for years, I know a number of SpinTuners participate, but I've never spent a ton of time there. This year I tried to log in most days & go through at least a few pages of songs. It was a lot of fun, and I plan to do it again next year. I found a lot of cool songs, and one of them I stumbled onto was "Stationary Dancing" by Corinne Lucy. I really enjoyed the song, and when it came time to look for a round 3 guest judge I remembered that song. So I messaged her to see if she would judge a round, and here we are. While you're reading over her reviews you should check out some of her music on SoundCloud.

Ryan M. BrewerNice use of sibilance in the first verseVery strong imagery right from the start and throughoutI like the syncopation of the repeated melodic line in the chorusGreat hook with those harmonies at the end of the chorusLove the layers of harmonies on “creep”Great shift to a waltzLove the Tom Waits-style interlude – adds another dimension and keeps the listener interestedVery catchy – I was singing along by the last chorus on the first listenMy only criticism would be that your singing style might be slightly false, put-on – but then I haven’t heard you speak, so perhaps it’s 100% naturalGreat singing abilitySoprano section at the end is wonderful – very soulful

Brian GrayProofreading hat on – “Whilst”, not “Whiles”A battle-cry extremely chantable indeed – fantastic chorus, great hookOverwrought lyrics but you’ve certainly kept a consistent atmosphereHarmonies on that hook really add triumphStrains of Jonathan Coulton? Threads of Shpadoinkle…?Enjoyed how you linked the two choruses together at the endYou sang and wrote this like a song from a musical and I want to watch that musical

Ominous RideI love the call-response harmonies“EVERY DAY!” shout in the chorus is greatDouble-tracking needs to be tighter in timing and pitching – with more than 8 days I’m sure it would beI like the dramatic delivery of the made-up phraseVery strong structure

Lucky Witch & The Righteous GhostWhat a fantastic concept!Your singing sounds so assured and nonchalant – sounds influenced by Liz PhairThe melody in the chorus sits uncomfortably over the second chord – it’s mostly the note at the end of the line, e.g. “can you feed HER”, “can you reach HER” – shift it up a semitone or sing it in more of a growl to avoid the dissonance (unless you were going for dissonance)Emphasis on “hatebaby” ends up on the “-by” because of the melody; consider making the second syllable (“-ba-”) 1 beat longer to place the emphasis more naturallyReally liked the call and response harmonies at the end

Alex ForgerReally sweet melody but without a strong hookLovely singing voice – soft and sweetMinimalist production could benefit from some harmoniesThe topical message is very softly delivered – this is a great way to handle a divisive and potentially bitter issue

Jailhouse PaybackVery pleasing groove – reminded me of They Might Be Giants and The BeatlesI like the fact that it doesn't resolveNice guitar solo – simple like BeatlesVery nice melody, nice harmoniesVery accomplished production – the drums are great

Ross DurandVery sweet concept that drew me inI like the rhyme scheme with rhymes halfway through each lineYour made-up word has a nice “etymology”The structure is nice as well – AABABA is kind of unusual and you created a strong refrain so it works very well

Governing DynamicsI love the lyrics – is this about someone in a coma? Or a Major Tom thing?The harmonies sound a little uncertain in places and I think that’s making them pitchy – try to go for it with confidence and you’ll get better resultsTurn the drums up, especially at the end – the guitar drowns them out almost completelyThe whole thing is very evocative – it’s dreamy and slightly uncomfortable, which fits the lyric perfectly

Steve StearnsAre these chords borrowed from All The Young Dudes at the start? If so, consider changing the electric guitar sound and melody – it’s very similar!I love the production – the strings and brass, and the way the drums are used, really create a Sgt Pepper feelIt’s a great mash-up of Bowie and Beatles influencesThe vocals get lost in the mix sometimes, could they be louder?I love the sitar and the backwards tambourine!

ShyfoxIt sounds as though the harmony an octave lower isn’t quite in your range – consider using a vocoder or similar to achieve the same effect, it’ll match the main vocal perfectly in pitch and timingI really like the melody, it’s very varied and evocativeIs there any mileage for you in singing with more confidence? If you try to really go for it you’ll probably get better resultsVery much like the counterpoint “yurtinflorfum” harmonies over the second verse

Army DefenseLess of a strong melody hereSuper fun thoughIn some lines, emphasis is on the "wrong" (awkward) syllableThose seventh harmonies in the chorus need to be more assured to sound in tuneDouble-tracking is out of time on the chorusLike the re-coloring in the final chorusGreat counterpoint harmony in the final chorus, love the pad-like one at the end

Zoe GrayWonderful imagery – reminded me of Aimee MannThis could have benefitted from harmonies as well as double-trackingThe double-tracking could be tighterCatchy chorus but I’m not convinced by the use of “sleep with your eyes open” – it suggests wariness; I think that’s the opposite of your meaning, which is perhaps more like being awake with your eyes shut…I love the menacing tone and the contrast created by those little music-box bells – perfect prosody with the lyric

Lucky Witch & The Righteous GhostThe distortion on the verses has a very nice effectFantastic imagery – “I try to talk but bird sounds come out” is freaky! You’ve conjured nightmares brilliantly hereProduction is great with the churchy organ and whatever that distorted noise is behind it – very creepy indeedThe smeary tube-amp-like distortion on the chorus is very piercing – it’s difficult to listen to. It fits the tone but you could turn the effect down to make the song a bit more palatable while still keeping it very creepy

Adam SakellaridesIt sounds as though you don’t quite know the melody - perhaps more familiarity with the song will solve thisReally reminiscent of They Might Be GiantsThe melody is unusual enough to carry this level of repetition, but it might be worth changing it up in the chorus nonetheless

Kyleen DownesNice concept; the dreaminess could be brought out more strongly with dreamier production, e.g. turn the guitar down & add a bit more reverbYou’re doing some vocal fryThe emphasis on some of the lines is in an unnatural place – e.g. “But this sun-SET”… “Maybe not having IS”…“The key to change what your life needs” doesn’t make sense for meThe verse melody is strongThe pre-chorus does a great job of building up expectation but the melody in the chorus could be stronger for a bigger pay-off

Mick BordetThis made me laughIt sounds a bit like Blur at the start but quickly morphs into something off the B-side of David Bowie’s LowThe production’s very interesting – this would fit into a David Lynch filmReally like the oboe – this is such an unusual piece!

Bryan SchumannThe magical sound of the chanting at the start is a strange fit for the RATM-style rap that followsI’d turn the guitars down and the drums upThe siren-like sound is very evocativeThe song is somewhat uncomfortable to listen to – given the subject matter, that may have been on purpose, but the whole thing could be brought together with louder drums and bass to counter the piercing guitars and sirenNot sure about your accent on “without human, can earth survive?” It does suit the ungrammatical phrase, and that creates a great rhythm – but it’s still questionable for me

Rob From AmersfoortI really like the production – the muffled syncopated drumbeat and bass are greatInteresting harmonies on the chorus, it goes somewhere very unexpected – especially the counterpoint “They rule the world now”Ik wil horen hoe je klinkt als je in het nederlands zingt!

Boffo Yux DudesFor my liking, the pitch-shifted high voice is overused here – it’s funny but after a while it gets irritating. Consider using different effects for each time it appears?This reminds me of the Bonzo Dog Band obviously but also early Queen, e.g. Bring Back That Leroy Brown – with tighter harmonies this could really workThe piano is sometimes out of time with the other instruments